Fifth Sunday in Lent: Vows for the future
Fifth Sunday in Lent: Vows for the future
Isaiah 43:16-21
During this Lenten season, I have explored the vows said for us at our baptism, and ones that we renew at least once a year. I have looked at them in the context of the scriptural readings assigned for each Sunday in Lent, and found that scripture does have something to say about each of them. The first two vows were resisting evil and repenting of evil when we do it, and seeking and serving Christ in all persons by loving our neighbors as ourselves. In the context of Jesus’ 40-day fast in the desert and temptation by the satan (with a little “s”), confession and sin and repentance is most effective when done in the loving presence of God. Loving our neighbors as ourselves means seeing ourselves as worthy of God’s love, receiving it, and then giving it to those around us. These are real acts of discipline that parallel Jesus’ discipline of saying no to temptation.
The next baptismal vow of continuing the Apostle’s fellowship, breaking of the bread, and prayers was explored in the context of Jesus’ calling Herod a fox, and wishing he could embrace and protect the faithful in Jerusalem like a mother hen protects her chicks. Fellowship is vital to finding peace in the world, because it means sharing a meal with your enemies, the outcast, and living in brotherly love with everyone, not just those who think and look like you. This vow is about disarming the enemy, the satan, by inviting them in beyond the protective walls we put up.
Last week the vow of seeking justice and peace and respecting the dignity of all people was looked at in the context of the story of the prodigal son. Justice came from an unexpected source in the story, and was not based on actions that would right wrongs or punish sins. Justice was seen instead as coming from a compassionate, loving relationship. Seeking justice starts with us being in relationship with others, where we include ourselves as both a source of justice and a cause of injustice for others. By working on the relationship we have with others, we rebuild relationships to regain justice.
These vows shape who we are as Christians, and summarize how to make the gospels come alive today, in our world. They can be understood in many different ways as they are read in the context of different passages of scripture. They are the core of a life in Christ and through Christ’s teachings.
Isaiah was writing to the Jews in the Old Testament reading for today. He uses imagery in the first verses that reminds the Jews of their journey out of Egypt, the Exodus. He calls on them to put away the past and look for something new from God. He speaks in the name of God when he writes,
“Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
God was calling God’s chosen people to a new life after having been taken slaves by the Babylonians. God was calling them to look forward to a future with hope, not back at the memories of a terrible life of captivity and bondage. The present was a time of transition for the Jews, learning what it meant to live as holy life as God’s chosen people. God is calling them to a new journey, like the journey from Egypt to the promised land. But this journey is a spiritual journey toward salvation, not traveling to a homeland. The Hebrew nation is called to make this journey where they live, not move to a new place.
The Jews experience in Isaiah’s time is not unlike what we experience during Lent as we prepare to recount Jesus’ death and celebrate his resurrection. We find ourselves in a period of transition as we acknowledge our past and learning for ourselves what a holy life in God means. Like the Jews, we are called to look forward. The past explains how we got to where we are in the present, but it has little, if anything, to do with what our future holds. Instead, our acceptance and practice of our baptismal vows influences our future.
The journey we are called to is a spiritual journey that starts in Lent and continues all year long. It is a challenging journey because it happens in the same place where we have lived a former life. All of the temptations of that life are still present, as they were when Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Despite being tempted and giving in, we can look at ourselves not as hopelessly flawed, but as recognizing where we need to improve. We are joined by others on this journey and experience that company as fellowship. Within that fellowship, we build relationships and bring justice to the journey. When we ourselves cause injustice to others, we can without fear admit our sins. We rebuild the relationships and strengthen the fellowship of the journey through acknowledging our wrongs, confessing our guilt, and expressing remorse. We are called by God, every day through Christ, to this spiritual journey. We only have to perceive it, and look for the path through the wilderness, and satisfy our thirst with the water we have been baptised with. Our baptismal vows are our response to God’s call to us, and fulfilling our vows is our journey of faith toward a life of holiness and salvation.
Isaiah 43:16-21
During this Lenten season, I have explored the vows said for us at our baptism, and ones that we renew at least once a year. I have looked at them in the context of the scriptural readings assigned for each Sunday in Lent, and found that scripture does have something to say about each of them. The first two vows were resisting evil and repenting of evil when we do it, and seeking and serving Christ in all persons by loving our neighbors as ourselves. In the context of Jesus’ 40-day fast in the desert and temptation by the satan (with a little “s”), confession and sin and repentance is most effective when done in the loving presence of God. Loving our neighbors as ourselves means seeing ourselves as worthy of God’s love, receiving it, and then giving it to those around us. These are real acts of discipline that parallel Jesus’ discipline of saying no to temptation.
The next baptismal vow of continuing the Apostle’s fellowship, breaking of the bread, and prayers was explored in the context of Jesus’ calling Herod a fox, and wishing he could embrace and protect the faithful in Jerusalem like a mother hen protects her chicks. Fellowship is vital to finding peace in the world, because it means sharing a meal with your enemies, the outcast, and living in brotherly love with everyone, not just those who think and look like you. This vow is about disarming the enemy, the satan, by inviting them in beyond the protective walls we put up.
Last week the vow of seeking justice and peace and respecting the dignity of all people was looked at in the context of the story of the prodigal son. Justice came from an unexpected source in the story, and was not based on actions that would right wrongs or punish sins. Justice was seen instead as coming from a compassionate, loving relationship. Seeking justice starts with us being in relationship with others, where we include ourselves as both a source of justice and a cause of injustice for others. By working on the relationship we have with others, we rebuild relationships to regain justice.
These vows shape who we are as Christians, and summarize how to make the gospels come alive today, in our world. They can be understood in many different ways as they are read in the context of different passages of scripture. They are the core of a life in Christ and through Christ’s teachings.
Isaiah was writing to the Jews in the Old Testament reading for today. He uses imagery in the first verses that reminds the Jews of their journey out of Egypt, the Exodus. He calls on them to put away the past and look for something new from God. He speaks in the name of God when he writes,
“Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
God was calling God’s chosen people to a new life after having been taken slaves by the Babylonians. God was calling them to look forward to a future with hope, not back at the memories of a terrible life of captivity and bondage. The present was a time of transition for the Jews, learning what it meant to live as holy life as God’s chosen people. God is calling them to a new journey, like the journey from Egypt to the promised land. But this journey is a spiritual journey toward salvation, not traveling to a homeland. The Hebrew nation is called to make this journey where they live, not move to a new place.
The Jews experience in Isaiah’s time is not unlike what we experience during Lent as we prepare to recount Jesus’ death and celebrate his resurrection. We find ourselves in a period of transition as we acknowledge our past and learning for ourselves what a holy life in God means. Like the Jews, we are called to look forward. The past explains how we got to where we are in the present, but it has little, if anything, to do with what our future holds. Instead, our acceptance and practice of our baptismal vows influences our future.
The journey we are called to is a spiritual journey that starts in Lent and continues all year long. It is a challenging journey because it happens in the same place where we have lived a former life. All of the temptations of that life are still present, as they were when Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Despite being tempted and giving in, we can look at ourselves not as hopelessly flawed, but as recognizing where we need to improve. We are joined by others on this journey and experience that company as fellowship. Within that fellowship, we build relationships and bring justice to the journey. When we ourselves cause injustice to others, we can without fear admit our sins. We rebuild the relationships and strengthen the fellowship of the journey through acknowledging our wrongs, confessing our guilt, and expressing remorse. We are called by God, every day through Christ, to this spiritual journey. We only have to perceive it, and look for the path through the wilderness, and satisfy our thirst with the water we have been baptised with. Our baptismal vows are our response to God’s call to us, and fulfilling our vows is our journey of faith toward a life of holiness and salvation.
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